


The Boy in the Sea

by Mittymitty



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A little ooc here and there, Angst, Happy Ending, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Merman Stiles, Merpeople, Other, not really just in the beginning before everyone gets all angsty, the hale family is alive for like 2 seconds fyi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-13 20:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4536966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mittymitty/pseuds/Mittymitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At age 14 Derek meets a boy in the sea and can't help but be drawn in. Derek likes making friends, he'd even say he's pretty good at making them and Stiles would prove to be a good friend for many years to come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You're not Scott

Derek hadn't thought much of swimming until his recent joining of Beacon Hills High School's swim team. He decided it'd be best to practice for the swim meet challenge in two weeks with the neighboring high school, deciding the beach closest to his families' territory would be more than good enough because going far from the pack was not ideal.  
He left in quite a hurry not because the sun had set already but because of the excitement to tread the waters, this area of the coast was almost always abandoned around this time of day during the school year, the only ways to even get to the area were through the woods, just 5 minutes away from the end of the preserve or through the sharp jagged rocks that connected to the other side of the beach near the docks. No one got through those rocks without a few injuries, one could simply swim around them, it's a pretty far out swim about 50 yards but some do, usually teenagers looking to shag in private.  
Approaching the shore he remembers the curfew his mother had set, that absolutely must not be broken. Derek felt it unnecessary since he was 14, almost 15, in high school and not only that but a werewolf too! Claws, fangs, super human strength, eyes that glow the whole shebang but he would be home by 9pm as his mother said for him to be. There is definitely nothing wrong with obeying your alpha. Besides, that gave him 2 hours to practice. Undressing to stripped down to only his shorts he couldn't contain the growing excitement as he put on his goggles. He hasn't swam in the ocean in a while. Sure he's swam in the lake right behind the manor nearly every Sunday but this was different the ocean was vast and over 90% of it hadn't even been discovered yet, at least according to Wikipedia. 

He barely puts a foot in when he hears a soft voice calls out “Scott?”  
Derek flinches away, jerking his feet from the water, looking up and immediately catching nearly glowing amber honey eyes staring at him expectantly, only 20 yards away. Obviously expecting this Scott person who Derek clearly was not. 

“Scott? You okay?” the boy inquires, approaching slowly immersing from the water exposing not only his head but also his shoulders. It's a little easier to see him now, at least after he removes his goggles and with the help of his beta eyes. The boy's voice was absolutely soothing and inviting, it practically drew him in. Derek was absolutely captivated, by his eyes, his shaggy short hair, his moles, his voice, his... well everything. As he got a better look the boy only looked to be about 13 years old. Should this kid be out alone? Were his parents near by? Since Derek came to swim he decided to brush off his inquiries and do just that, swim. As he submerges into the water he hadn't realized that he still hasn't spoken, that is until the boy nearly hisses at him “Scott! I'll drown you if you don't answer me!”

“Uh...” Derek begins, the boy startles, looking just a tad confused, more curious if anything. “You... Are not Scott.” he slowly affirms. He gets slightly closer, squinting, seeming to try to get a better look at Derek.

“I'm Derek.” he finally starts out, barely finding his words, the boy tilts his head as he processes the information and Derek swims a little closer. “Stay right there.” The boy rushes out as he eyes Derek curiously and cautiously. It catches Derek by surprise but he complies and goes no further instead he asks “what are you doing out here?” He gets a snort in return and a “What are YOU doing out here?” Derek rolls his eyes and instead of being a smart ass decides to answer the kid; “I'm on my school's swim team, we have a meet soon and I decided to practice so that I can show off to my sisters” the boy tilts his head again eyebrows raising in surprise, a smile immediately spreading from the his lips. Derek couldn't help recognizing the movement as adorable as it was, caught in his thoughts, the boy swam closer, rather inhumanly fast and he was in Derek's space in no time. “Swim team? A team for swimming!?” the boy throws his head back and laughs, a laugh that ran through Derek's very core, he shivers as the other boy continues “wonderful! That's great! Who are you meeting?” he asks, Derek blinks in surprise and with that it's his turn to laugh. He seems to startle and confuse the other boy, eventually Derek manages to huff out between breaths, “Ha ha, hoooo-man, I don't mean to laugh, I'm sorry!” the kid crosses his arms and pouts as he waits for Derek to finish. Wiping the tears from his eyes he explains “it's just a meet up for right now, kind of a competition really but oh hey, what's your name?” Derek realizes he's been referring to him as 'kid' in his head for a while now.

“Oh? Are you done?” the kid scoffs playfully, “I'm Stiles.”

“What kind of name is stiles?”

“Wow, rude! It's my nickname but my name shellforbrains” despite the insult Derek is grinning and he nods, “Ok! Stiles it is” and thankfully Stiles beams at him, Derek definitely needs to see that again. “Oh, hey, you never answered my question, what are you doing out here? Isn't it late, like aren't your parents worried or something? you're pretty young to be out here alone” Stiles sneers at him and begins swimming lazily with his arms. “You don't look much older than me buddy” touche Derek thinks “buuut...” Stiles drawls in a sing song tune that captures Derek's full and undivided attention immediately, he's looking at Derek with such a mischievous smile that makes him gulp in anticipation. Stiles looks him up and down, well as much as the sea will allow him to and shakes his head in disapproval “Ya know what? Never mind, I'm not gonna tell you.” He comes to a stop and points his nose up the and watches Derek's reaction from the corner of his eyes.

“W-what!? But why!? That's no fair I told you why I was here!” Derek whines but Stiles is loving every minute of this, he smirks and immediately gets back into Derek's space; 'seriously. How is he so fast?' he's so close that Derek can feel his breath and smell his excitement, his thoughts and blatant sniffing are interrupted by “How about this!? I'll think about telling you why I'm here if you bring me something really pretty or shiny!” Stiles looks ecstatic about his idea, as if it's the best idea in the world. He seems so sure that it takes Derek a minute to actually question the proposal.

“That doesn't sound fair...”He thinks aloud.

Stiles crosses his arms looking smug “Tough coral! Take it or leave it!”

Tough what? Derek brushes it off and sighs “I'll think about it, in the mean time, you should show me how you swim so fast” he compromises, Stiles circles around him proclaiming “I can try but you'll never get as fast as me.”

“We'll see about that kid” Derek says through his grin.  
************  
After awhile Stiles explains that his form is too awkward and stiff and after stubbornly fixing his form Derek swims a lot easier and a little faster but even using his werewolf strength in his legs wasn't enough to keep up with Stiles. They both jump to the sound of the dock bells, meaning a few boats were leaving shore, Stiles begins to move farther out telling Derek that he has to go, Derek's shocked by the abruptness of it all. “I'll bring you something pretty and shiny, I'll come back tomorrow, same time!” he yells, sounding almost desperate, Stiles turns to beam at him and waves goodbye, Derek watches as he takes the route around the jagged rocks. Huh, a fisherman's kid?

Barely a moment later the alarm on his phone goes off, letting him know to head home.


	2. Life could be a little more fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles thought that life was not meant to be boring but he couldn't disobey his mother... Too much that is.

Stiles can't believe the turn of his luck as of late. 4 months ago, a man named John Stilinski turned up claiming to be his father and ever since then he visits Stiles at least 3 times a week, usually on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. John or dad, was what the man had liked Stiles to call him, was rather surprised that Stiles had already had a friendship with Scott McCall but didn't press against it or even really question it. He didn't even demand more quality alone time with his son on days that Scott came, he just let Scott join in as well.

Even better the man spoke Polish, he missed speaking it with his mother. Speaking his mother's first language with his father reminded him of the home he had lost with his mother. Stiles was a rather strange child but even a mentally odd kid would miss their one and only mother and stiles missed his terribly.

it's been a year and a half since his mother Claudia was murdered by poachers, he was awfully lonely, well lonelier than usual at least, during the first few months, his mother was his best friend, she raised him all on her own. He had adored her vibrant cherry red tail that shimmered with gold and swelled with pride that his own mimicked in darker shades. 

It wasn't that his mother wasn't enough for him but he was a child, he yearned to play with other children. Especially on days his mother's tail split into what she called “human legs”. His mother had warned him in great detail to stay away from other water nymphs, explained in vague detail that they were dangerous and she had worked very hard to get away from her tribe. Stiles could never really remember much of his life with his old tribe and being a questionable child, Stiles always had questions, his favorite was 'why' but his mother would dismiss the whys and tell him to focus on what they had now but she was more than willing to answer others. 

She had educated him that water nymphs mainly traveled in small groups called “families” some families were bigger than others but there were also a few tribes that could consist of 300 nymphs. His mother explained that tribes were more policed and aggressive and that if they did not leave they would not have the free way of life that they currently had. They took refuge in a sea cavern for years to come, deep below near the shore of a place that his mother said to be near the coast of California which was very far from their original home. Even though they were so far away his mother warned him to stay away from the Californian nymphs or they would take him away. Stiles didn't understand why anyone would want him but his mother always told him that he was very special and different and so the very often spoken rule; “never stray far from the cavern and never stray far from the shore” became Stiles life motto.

Despite her CONSTANT warnings Stiles would always wonder very far from the cavern AND the shore, he's no poster child so he never really felt bad about it. 

One day he really couldn't help his hysteria when he saw another young nymph, who seemed just his age, the other boy looked rather... Interesting. Scales laced his shoulders and neck and a fin that resembled a shark's Dorsal fin struck out between his shoulder blades. Stiles later finds out that the boy's name was Jackson Tryde, the guy was a real flounder.

Or as Scott called flounders; a real jerk, he was rude, crude and defensive about everything and the nymph didn't have much to defend, he looked cool and from what he told Stiles, he had had a lot of friends before running away from his old tribe, after his parents shunned and shamed him for his features. Not that Jackson had cared or anything, he knew they were just jealous but nymphs who were kin with sharks were seen as brutes and untrustworthy, which was appreciated in some tribes but unluckily not in his. Stiles didn't think that was all that fair. 

That year they became an odd set of friends; he even introduced Jackson to his mother at some point. She was sad for the boy and in her sadness and sympathy she never had the chance to be mad at Stiles for disobeying her. Claudia even offered that he stay with them in the cavern when he wanted to rest but he out right refused and scurried off to who knows where every now and then. The strange relationship between the two grew over the year and half of their friendship. 

One day Jackson called Claudia “mama Claud” and despite Claudia's and even Stiles' happiness and acceptance Jackson ran off, never to be seen or heard from again. Stiles had been 6 at the time and hoped that Jackson had runaway and not been killed by poachers or taken away by another tribe. Stiles thought that Jackson was really special too. If he ran away he couldn't blame Jackson, it was pretty boring, not being able to explore and grow but that didn't really decrease his worries. 

Time went on and his mother continued her weekly human walks and even though Stiles would get terribly lonely he would never say a thing, his mother came back happier then when she left every time. She would come with books and other learning utensils, that she used to teach him English and Polish. They kept the surface items between the jagged rocks away from the shore, near his mother's favorite surface dressings; they were called clothes. He never understood why he had to learn these things and he just chose to trust his mother when she would simply state that he would need it in the future. He stopped studying when she died.

Even though there have been some holes in the seaweed, Stiles knows that his luck is turning around, he's made a best friend who plays with him and brings human snacks, Stiles thinks he fell in love with the human boy when he brought pizza one day.   
He also has a really nice dad, who visits often despite being a really busy body sheriff of the town Stiles' shore occupies, Stiles knows the man isn't telling him everything but he doesn't question it. His dad tells him stories of how he and his mom met and how she would visit the surface land to see him and even tells stories of himself every now and then, most are about his teenage years and some current case. The man at some point during his first meetings with Stiles said through tears that he hadn't even known about stiles until he got an anonymous letter about him but he will be there from then on and now on every step of the way. He stays true to his word.

He has all these good things going for him and now he meets Derek, Derek is so much fun, he's also vibrant and not a total shellforbrains despite that Stiles had called him that a few times. If mom didn't tell him it was a bad thing, Stiles would have tried to drag him into the depth of the ocean... but he knows better... now. The day is dragging on ever so slowly and Stiles is maybe a little too excited to see the older boy who will be coming back tonight with something not only pretty but also shiny, Stiles can't believe it.

 

*****************************************************

 

Derek is panicking a little. Only a little. He had picked out broken bits of an expensive disco ball for the boy but while talking with his uncle Peter about his meeting with the boy, Peter had laughed sweetly at his nephew's ignorance.

“What's so funny?” Derek demanded blushing, he didn't like to be made fun, not at all.  
“Oh dear nephew I really hope you aren't planning to take a piece of broken party appliance to a mermaid!?” Peter exclaims between his laughter.  
Derek scowls and falters because how did he not think it was a possibility that Stiles was a mermaid. He scowls harder at the realization but mermaids really were a myth, even in the supernatural community.  
He interrupts his own thoughts; “but mermaids really are a myth, literally no one has seen them, they haven't even been socially studied like other moon people...”  
Peter's face softens “oh nephew o mine, you can't believe the old text books these days, it's true they haven't been studied so there really is no pure or true record of them in any bestiary but that doesn't mean they aren't real, remember how people thought we weren't real but now there's hunters specialized in keeping us inline?” Peter drawls out with a roll of his eyes, no one liked hunters.  
Derek thought about it and he hated when Peter had a point.  
Peter continued; “How about this dear nephew, I will give you Olivia's old silver mirror so that you can impress the lad that you're obviously smitten with.  
Derek frowned but accepted Peter's offer with a muffled thanks as he left to his room to go and get ready to meet with Stiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was a draft I wasn't going to include, didn't want to have to make the story abrupt, I'm going to take it a little slower than planned

**Author's Note:**

> Just a drabble and quickly knitted together story from drafts. First fic too, cool. Hope whoever is reading will enjoy it. Should be about 4 chapters, depending on how I space it out.


End file.
